What do you think?
Rate this book
Bobby on the Beat: Memoirs of a London Policeman in the 1960s
Bob Dixon spent years "on the Beat" as a police constable in the Metropolitan Police Force in the early 1960s, witnessing all manner of incidents, from the serious to the ludicrous. Spending the majority of his time in London's infamous East end dealing with drunks, fatalities on the road, domestic disputes, and even suicides, as well as policing at major public events such as Guy Fawkes night, New Year's Eve, and anti-Vietnam War marches, life was colorful and varied, if not always safe. This memoir of a real-life London copper charts Bob Dixon's experiences as a young police officer before he joined the CID. The book covers his life before joining the Force, his rigorous training, the vagaries of first patroling the Beat, the numerous accounts both sad and funny of crime fighting in the capital, the lighter side of policing, and how he feels the police force has changed since the 60s. Offering unique insights into a world many of us do not feel comfortable entering, Bobby on the Beat uncovers what life is really like for those brave few who help keep the streets safe.
256 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2013
6 people are currently reading
15 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 8, 2017
I had high hopes, I found this book really bland it's like watching heartbeat.
April 11, 2018
This book was ok, not quite as good as I was expecting/hoping. It’s a very “nice” book. Missed some east end gritt!
April 23, 2018
On for the good old days
A joy to read of the old days of London policing an invite to the history of our age. A simple easy read
A joy to read of the old days of London policing an invite to the history of our age. A simple easy read
January 26, 2026
Not his real name, surely? The preface to this book mentions Dixon of Dock Green, which is perhaps the earliest British television police procedural, so I’ve assumed this is a pseudonym. As such, you might hope for some interesting stuff…
The elephant in the room for me with this book is that the second-hand copy I ordered turned out to be the large print edition. Urk! The thing about large print is that the publishers tend to choose a very ugly font, which is a shame. Really beautiful type looks wonderful at large sizes, but instead we get an ugly bog-standard serif font without a proper italic, which is a travesty. Furthermore, the page is almost completely filled with type, with barely any margin, which affects readability in a negative way as any fule kno.
I had similar complaints about A Cumbrian Copper, which was set in Times (yawn), which I described as an insult to the eye. In fact, Bobby on the Beat reads like a clone of that other book, in terms of both style and content. All policemen must learn to write in the same style. There’s no real narrative, just a series of short anecdotes on a particular theme, such as might be told over a pint in a pub. Some of the anecdotes are quite amusing, like his description of sneaking a chinese takeaway back to the station under his helmet.
The subtitle of this one is Memoirs of a London Policeman in the 1960s, and I was of course reading it for research—not for the current work in progress, but for the next one, or the one after that*. As with A Cumbrian Copper, I found the pickings slim. The villains in the East End of London were meaner and more deadly than the idiots up in Cumbria, but in the telling, it all seems the same. You get precious few details. Everything is a summary.
This particular copper ended up working in car crime, so when he says he was only involved in four murder cases, it doesn’t mean that murder as a crime is rare. It is, obviously, a lot rarer than it is in fiction. As a writer, that disconnect interests me. I find the idea of a lead character very unused to murder cases fascinating: the sense that you might not know what you’re doing is something to explore. “Bob Dixon” obviously enjoyed his time investigating major auto crimes, but he doesn’t really write about them. He spent his early career as a beat copper and then a detective constable in the East End, at a time when the Krays were active and there were still dockers. His day to day life involved drunks, prostitution, fighting, burglaries, and traffic. The very occasional horrific murder was both shocking and bewildering. They were either easy to solve (caught red handed, as it were) or impossible. But the cops were often just stumbling around blind.
Which is why, I think, I’m more interested in writing period pieces than contemporary crime fiction. Modern forensics and DNA and CCTV mean that most crime is solved in a lab, or in front of a screen. Well, I spend my life in front of screens. I want my characters stumbling around on hills or walking down unlit streets.
Anyway, if you want short anecdotes about policing in a bygone age, this is fine. But if you want juicy detail about procedure and investigation, not so much.
The elephant in the room for me with this book is that the second-hand copy I ordered turned out to be the large print edition. Urk! The thing about large print is that the publishers tend to choose a very ugly font, which is a shame. Really beautiful type looks wonderful at large sizes, but instead we get an ugly bog-standard serif font without a proper italic, which is a travesty. Furthermore, the page is almost completely filled with type, with barely any margin, which affects readability in a negative way as any fule kno.
I had similar complaints about A Cumbrian Copper, which was set in Times (yawn), which I described as an insult to the eye. In fact, Bobby on the Beat reads like a clone of that other book, in terms of both style and content. All policemen must learn to write in the same style. There’s no real narrative, just a series of short anecdotes on a particular theme, such as might be told over a pint in a pub. Some of the anecdotes are quite amusing, like his description of sneaking a chinese takeaway back to the station under his helmet.
The subtitle of this one is Memoirs of a London Policeman in the 1960s, and I was of course reading it for research—not for the current work in progress, but for the next one, or the one after that*. As with A Cumbrian Copper, I found the pickings slim. The villains in the East End of London were meaner and more deadly than the idiots up in Cumbria, but in the telling, it all seems the same. You get precious few details. Everything is a summary.
This particular copper ended up working in car crime, so when he says he was only involved in four murder cases, it doesn’t mean that murder as a crime is rare. It is, obviously, a lot rarer than it is in fiction. As a writer, that disconnect interests me. I find the idea of a lead character very unused to murder cases fascinating: the sense that you might not know what you’re doing is something to explore. “Bob Dixon” obviously enjoyed his time investigating major auto crimes, but he doesn’t really write about them. He spent his early career as a beat copper and then a detective constable in the East End, at a time when the Krays were active and there were still dockers. His day to day life involved drunks, prostitution, fighting, burglaries, and traffic. The very occasional horrific murder was both shocking and bewildering. They were either easy to solve (caught red handed, as it were) or impossible. But the cops were often just stumbling around blind.
Which is why, I think, I’m more interested in writing period pieces than contemporary crime fiction. Modern forensics and DNA and CCTV mean that most crime is solved in a lab, or in front of a screen. Well, I spend my life in front of screens. I want my characters stumbling around on hills or walking down unlit streets.
Anyway, if you want short anecdotes about policing in a bygone age, this is fine. But if you want juicy detail about procedure and investigation, not so much.
October 28, 2018
This book gives an idea of what it would have been like being police back in the 60's in east London. I thought it was okay, and kept me interested enough to read it, but it definitely wasn't a page turner. I agree that seeing and interacting with the police in the street, at the pub, at events, in any social type setting would give them a more humanising view and getting to know them for both the general public and criminals is also a good idea. That said there would be difficulties in that happening and times have changed so much that people would most likely see it as an attack on they're civil liberties.
A fairly light read and in giving that review sort of sums up the main theme to the book.
A fairly light read and in giving that review sort of sums up the main theme to the book.
March 14, 2022
this is a book by bob dixon.
it is about bob dixon who comes from a good and happy family in england.
he always wanted to become a police officer.
he then becomes a police officer in the 1960's in the east end of london.
he catches some people for murder and some for burglary.
it is about murders and about offenders.
it is about his job and the arrests he makes.
it is about his life and about how he is a police officer.
it was a short read though.
it is about bob dixon who comes from a good and happy family in england.
he always wanted to become a police officer.
he then becomes a police officer in the 1960's in the east end of london.
he catches some people for murder and some for burglary.
it is about murders and about offenders.
it is about his job and the arrests he makes.
it is about his life and about how he is a police officer.
it was a short read though.
March 5, 2024
A Police Officer on the Beat. Most people have never seen one, and many believe it is a myth. The search for a Bobby on the Beat in Britain has now taken on the same status as the hunt for Bigfoot. There have been reported sightings from time to time, but no definite proof.
A recent film of a Bobby in a Stoke on Trent street turned out to be a fake.
I keep an open mind about it, but until I actually see one with my own eyes I reserve judgement.
A recent film of a Bobby in a Stoke on Trent street turned out to be a fake.
I keep an open mind about it, but until I actually see one with my own eyes I reserve judgement.
April 25, 2023
such a funny, uplifting,
insightful book into policing in the 8o's. it made me reflect on how much has changed in the last 4o odd years, and question whether the old approaches were actually better? overall a fab book and highly recommend.
insightful book into policing in the 8o's. it made me reflect on how much has changed in the last 4o odd years, and question whether the old approaches were actually better? overall a fab book and highly recommend.
November 8, 2020
Biography of the 1st WPC in Richmond. Well written, interesting and funny but mostly nostalgic as all about Richmond, Redcar & Scarborough which are close to where i grew up
May 2, 2021
Good read
Very well written f Trump on the heart.loved the stories can recommend this story of the Police ,thank you well done
Very well written f Trump on the heart.loved the stories can recommend this story of the Police ,thank you well done
November 15, 2022
An okay read but I think I was hoping for a bit more juicy scandal. More on the Krays would have gone down a treat. I got the impression he liked them and was being very discreet. :D
January 1, 2023
I injoyed this book of how the police were in the 60s
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews